


Ohana.

by have-a-little-laith (LWritesx)



Series: Keith's BirthWeek (2k17) [1]
Category: Voltron Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday, Family, Freeform, Friendship, Garrison - Freeform, Gen, Isolation, Keith's Birthday Week 2017, More tags to be added, Multi, broganes, canon and non canon events, heritage, no ships, written from prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:24:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LWritesx/pseuds/have-a-little-laith
Summary: In which Keith doesn't know what family means, and Shiro and the gang are not having it.





	Ohana.

**Author's Note:**

> Day One's theme : Family/Friends
> 
> For those of you who are reading To Love A Galra, I'll try my best to update it after Keef's birthweek is over.
> 
> You can find it [here](http://xthis-rebelle.tumblr.com/post/166687303251/ohana) on tumblr.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 **family** **(n)**  :  _A group of people, usually of the same blood (but do not have to be), who genuinely love, trust, care about, and look out for each other. Family is a bond that cannot be broken by any means._

If you asked Keith Kogane what family means, you’ll get a sharp laugh and a snarky response of, “why don’t you ask someone who has one.”

The closest thing he had to family was Shiro, and he disappeared. When he disappeared, Keith’s heart broke. The one person in his life who never gave up on him, who’d promised to be there for him, who’d pulled so many strings just to get him into the Garrison, was gone. Just like that.

Then, Keith found him again. Along with Lance, Hunk and Pidge. And then came Allura and Coran.

Then came the sadness that Keith related to so well when Allura realized that she had no one but Coran left.

 _That’s why I don’t let anyone in,_  Keith remembered thinking,  _so that I don’t have this heartbreak when they decide to leave._

All of this crossed his mind as he ushered the team into the last escape pod.

It was supposed to be a secret rescue mission, but somewhere, something went wrong.

They’d unknowingly walked straight into an ambush, having left their lions on the outer surface while Allura evacuated the planet.

The underground tunnels leading to the empty prisons were too small for the lions to fit, and were on the verge of collapsing. In fact, due to the harmful effects of the Quintessence, the entire core of the planet was unstable, and was on the verge of collapsing.

The team was holding out as much Galra drones as they could, but they’d be overwhelmed soon. The only escape pod, which was on the other side of the door, along with control panels to trigger doors which would cut off any exit to the surface, was heavily guarded by the drones.

The paladins stood in tight formation, Keith and Shiro in front, shields up, protecting Hunk and Lance while the two of them returned fire. Pidge stood in the middle, bayard in hand, shielding herself and taking out as much of them as she could.

“Okay guys,” Shiro said, “We’re going to get that pod. Pidge, Keith, you’ll remain in formation at the front with me. We’ll take the heavy fire and take out as much of them as we can, hopefully clearing a path to the pod. Lance, Hunk, you cover us from behind. If we move in tight sync, this  _will_  work.”

“Got it,” Lance and Hunk said in unison.

They moved carefully and cautiously, even though they were surrounded on all sides. They all fought, Keith running his sword through two, even three drones at a time, Shiro using his arm to throw them, Pidge electrocuting as much as she could with her lethal bayard.

When they’d gotten to the pod, Shiro shoved Pidge, Lance and Hunk in first.

The control panel was just around the corner. Keith looked at Shiro.

“No,” Shiro said, firmly, knowing exactly what his pseudo little brother was thinking.

“Shiro, you have let me do this,” Keith said, “I’m the only one with Galra blood. I can close these doors. They’ll be trapped in here and they won’t be able to take prisoners from the surface!”

“Keith, listen to me. It’s dangerous out there. The drones will not hesitate to take you out,” Shiro grabbed his shoulders, trying to make him understand, “I can’t allow you to do this.”

“But Shiro,” Keith protested, “We’ll be able to take out all the Galra on this planet in one go.”

“Shiro, don’t let him do this!” Pidge broke in, frantically, “It turns out that there’s a timer on this pod. If he goes all the way there, he won’t be able to make it back before the pod takes off.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Keith growled, “Think of all the lives that would be saved. You guys would be safe.”

“Sixty ticks till take off,” Pidge interjected.

Keith shook Shiro’s hand off his shoulder and ran toward the controls.

“Keith!” Shiro yelled, swearing in agitation because  _dammit this boy will be the death of him one day._

Growling, Shiro took off after him.

Keith swiped his hand over the handprint pad. There was a vibration as an automated voice said, “Hangar doors closing.”

Shiro thrust his prosthetic arm through it, effectively destroying it.

“Twenty-three ticks till take off,” Pidge’s voice came through the comms.

Shiro and Keith picked up their speed.

“We’ll make it,” Shiro said, reassuringly.

“Eighteen ticks till launch,” It was Hunk’s voice this time, wobbling in fear for his teammates.

A horrible feeling, like rotten eggs, settled through Keith. They weren’t going to make it.

Shiro pulled Keith into him, and activated his jetpack.

“We are  _going_ to make it,” Shiro told Keith once more, his voice confident.

They rounded the corner. The pod door started to close. The drones were safely locked in on the other side. Pidge urged them to hurry while Hunk and Lance rushed forward, arms outstretched, ready to pull them into the pod.

Keith’s boot is barely in the pod when the doors close and the paladins are ejected into the outer surface, before the tunnel collapses. Nobody says anything as they enter their lions and head to the Castle of Lions.

That’s when Keith knows he’s in for it.

They’re sitting on the bridge when all the paladins and Allura look at Keith.

“I’m not in the mood for a lecture,” he mutters half-hartedly, because he really was  _not_.

“Okay, Mullet. What the heck?!” Lance yells at him, his sudden outburst surprising everyone, “Oh, wait, you’re not in the mood for a lecture. I’m not in the mood for having to find another Red Paladin and Black Paladin, which, by the way, I would be doing right now if you guys had made it back just a tick later!”

“Lance has a point, Keith,” Allura said in her usual calm manner, “When will you understand that the decisions you make, whether for the greater good or not, will have an effect on the team?”

“That’s why I told Shiro to let me go,” Keith replied, “You could have left me behind if I didn’t make it.”

Shiro turned furious eyes on him.

“Keith, that’s not how family works, and you know it,” he said, sharply.

“You’re not my family,” Keith hissed, “I don’t  _have_  a family, Shiro. Don’t you see that? I’m disposable. Anything can happen to me and there will be literally no one to care.”

“That’s not true,” Pidge said, quietly.

“Exactly, Pidge,” Shiro agreed, “From the moment we got into Blue and she brought us into space, we became a family. Because we care about each other, and because we have each other’s backs.”

“We’re Ohana, man,” Hunk said, putting his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “And Ohana means family. And family means that no one gets left behind. Or forgotten.”

Lance cracked a smile at Hunk, “Lilo and Stich, big guy?”

Hunk shrugged, “I dunno. It seemed fitting.”

Keith lowered his head, unable to meet any of their eyes. They truly cared about him. He thought of his desert shack back on Earth, the lonely nights he endured by himself. Then he thought of the night he rescued Shiro, and when he met Hunk, Lance and Pidge, and how his life had changed without him even realizing it.

It seemed pretty funny that a space dad, the brain, a space mom, a space uncle, the nice guy and the goofball could make a pretty solid family.

“We’re all here for you, Keith,” Allura smiled, gently.

Deep down, Keith knew this was true.

Deep down, he knew that this was what was missing, and what he wanted in his life: a family like this.

And in that moment, he was never more thankful that they didn’t leave him behind. In that moment, he was thankful for them, his space family.

 

 


End file.
